The challenge
Three storefronts had grown separately, each with its own product data and its own analytics. Nobody could say what a customer was worth, because no two systems counted one the same way.
Case study
Replatforming a regional retail group’s commerce estate
Three storefronts, one catalogue, and no agreement about what any of the numbers meant.
The objective
One catalogue, one measurement model, and a publishing process the merchandising team could run without help.
The strategy
Consolidate the data model first and the storefronts second. Replatforming before agreeing what a product is would only have moved the disagreement.
The solution
A single catalogue with a defined schema, one commerce platform, and a measurement layer specified before the build rather than bolted on after it.
The execution
Migrated in three waves by category, with the old storefronts live throughout. Each wave ended with a reconciliation against the previous month rather than a launch announcement.
The results
Checkout completion improved, publishing time fell, and for the first time the finance and marketing figures agreed.
2.1x
Checkout completion
Illustrative sample figure, not a client result
-38%
Time to publish a product
Illustrative sample figure, not a client result
1
Source of truth for stock
Illustrative sample figure, not a client result
Sample content. These figures are placeholders for layout review and must be replaced with verified numbers, or removed, before publication.
What we learned
The migration was never the hard part. Agreeing the definition of a product variant took longer than building the platform that stored it.
What is next
Retention. The acquisition numbers are now trustworthy enough to make a lifetime-value conversation possible.
An opportunity identified for a future phase, not work already commissioned.
Sample content, created for layout review. Replace or remove it before this site goes live.
About this entry
The client is described rather than named, which is how an anonymized case study is published. The figures are illustrative and labelled as such.
How this was verified
Sample content. Client anonymised; figures are illustrative.
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